Chapter 31 Ezra
‘The Sanctuary’ was anything but peaceful.
Rafael had gone into Forsgeth to recruit builders and gather supplies, but he had returned with far more than any of us expected.
At Elsbeth's request, the town had rallied behind the cause, wagon after wagon arrived with lumber, tools, blankets, nails, and every building material they could spare.
Liv had so graciously volunteered me as a pack mule, and sweat dripped into my eyes as I hauled yet another beam across the field.
Everywhere I looked, something new was taking shape.
Hammers rang across the field. Children darted between stacks of timber, laughing until Margaret barked at them to stay clear of the saws.
Men from Forsgeth raised the frame of what would soon become a dormitory while others dismantled what they had kindly referred to as my ‘training ring’ before rebuilding it properly.
It was difficult to believe this place had once been little more than a forgotten refuge, hidden by Liv's father as a last desperate attempt to keep his family safe.
Now it was becoming a home. A true sanctuary for a rebellion none of us had ever intended to build.
I rested against the pile of materials I had just finished carrying.
Margaret wandered through the work crews, offering lemonade to anyone willing to pause long enough to drink it.
I gladly accepted a glass and emptied it before she had taken two steps away.
The heat was relentless today. Before she could protest, I reached for a second.
Helena had finally joined Liv outside. From where I stood, I watched Liv arrange the girls into pairs, older with younger, patiently correcting stances before moving on to footwork and balance drills.
I smiled at the organized chaos. Once everyone else had a partner, Liv crossed the training ring toward Helena, who leaned against the railing with all the enthusiasm of someone awaiting an execution.
She caught Helena by the wrist and all but dragged her into the center of the ring before beckoning to Raf, who looked up from carrying timber.
I could not hear every word, but I did catch: “Demonstrate for them.”
Helena glanced toward Raf before looking back at Liv. “Together?” Liv nodded enthusiastically. “Absolutely not.” Helena folded her arms. “There are other partners.”
Liv folded her own arms, somehow managing to look both encouraging and impossibly stubborn. “Exactly why you two are demonstrating.” Poor Raf stood awkwardly, his hands clasped behind his back and his eyes fixed to the ground.
I continued to watch as Liv encouraged the smaller, frightened girls.
She praised every success, no matter how small, and corrected every mistake without so much as raising her voice.
Then she called one of the older girls into the center of the ring to demonstrate a throw.
They both ended up flat on their backs in the mud, laughing so hard neither of them could stand.
I did not realize I was laughing with them until Liv's gaze found mine.
She climbed over the railing, wooden training sword in hand, in one effortless motion and strode straight toward me with the determined look of a woman on a mission.
Her braid had begun to unravel, strands of midnight-blue hair clinging to her neck with sweat.
Mud streaked her clothes and dusted her cheeks.
Wherever the mud had missed, the afternoon sun had kissed her skin instead. She was radiant.
“Are you helping at all?” she asked. I blinked. Only then did I realize I had spent the better part of the last half hour accomplishing absolutely nothing. I had simply been watching her.
“What?” I murmured, finally breaking free of whatever spell she had unknowingly cast over me.
“Are you helping?” she repeated, a little more firmly this time.
I rubbed the back of my neck. “...Probably not.”
“Well, what have you been doing then?” she asked. Before I could answer, the irritation in her expression softened into concern. “Ezra?” She stepped closer. “Is something wrong?”
I opened my mouth and closed it again. There did not seem to be a dignified way to admit that the greatest obstacle to my productivity was currently standing less than a foot away from me.
“Ezra?” She pressed again.
I let my shadows unfurl around us, curling gently around her ankles before coaxing her closer.
I sighed but smiled despite myself. “I simply have not figured out how to share the same space as you...”
She tilted her head. “...and not be completely captivated.”
She stared at me. Then, slowly...she melted against me.
“Every breath you take seems to draw me in with it.”
I admitted quietly. She pushed back from me and stared into my eyes, and for a moment, the chaos disappeared.
“That seems like a you problem.” She said flatly.
I could not decide whether I had been rejected...
or whether that had been the closest thing to encouragement I was ever likely to receive from Lavinia Dawling.
She pressed the wooden training sword into my hand, turned, and walked away, leaving me standing there holding it like a man who had forgotten how to use it.
“Try to keep up!” I let the smile tugging at the corner of my mouth finally win. She knew exactly what she had done.
We spent the rest of the afternoon demonstrating techniques for the girls. Liv spoke to them about their magic and how it was tied to emotion. Fighting was not merely physical. She taught them how to breathe. How to quiet the noise in their minds. How to feel their power instead of forcing it.
In the ring beside us, Helena and Raf sparred... if one could call it sparring. Neither of them seemed capable of concentrating on the exercise for more than a few moments. Every few minutes Liv would call out another correction.
“Closer.”
Helena let out an exasperated sigh. “We are already close enough.”
Her irritation was obvious, though I could not decide whether it was directed at Liv... or at the poor blacksmith standing opposite her.
“Not according to combat standards,” Liv replied without missing a beat.
I stared at her. Combat standards? It took only a moment for understanding to dawn.
She was not training them. She was matchmaking.
I raised my hands in surrender and backed away when Helena looked to me for help.
I wanted no part in whatever experiment Lavinia was conducting.
By day's end, we gathered around the long tables we had built from the leftover timber.
Our little group had now outgrown the small kitchen table.
Behind us, the dormitory stood nearly finished.
Only the beds remained, and Margaret had already enlisted Christine and Eliza to help prepare them.
We ate together beneath the fading light.
We laughed, we planned, and we enjoyed one final evening of peace. Tomorrow...we would rescue the girls.